Stories by Jack Craver
Austin Water in process of cost-of-service study
Austin Water, the city-owned water and wastewater utility, is currently in the midst of a lengthy cost-of-service study that will shape the rates it will charge Austin residents and businesses for water over the next decade. Unlike Austin Energy, the…
Water • By Jack Craver • Nov 23, 2016
Uber wants to come back to Austin
Uber does not have hard feelings about Prop 1. In a forum hosted by the Austin Monitor, Glasshouse Policy and KUT on the patio of the Ginger Man bar downtown, a representative of the ride-hailing giant expressed regret about the…
Transit • By Jack Craver • Nov 18, 2016
LCRA seeks to protect land in river basin from development
The Lower Colorado River Authority is looking for landowners who will agree not to sell their property to developers. In an effort to protect water quality and quantity and to preserve Texas’ cultural heritage, the LCRA has been working with…
Environment • By Jack Craver • Nov 17, 2016
Council sacrifices Old West Austin building for park improvements
A fourplex in Old West Austin is likely to be demolished despite a push by Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo to save it in the name of historic preservation. A resolution put forward by Tovo to initiate historic zoning on…
Preservation • By Jack Craver • Nov 15, 2016
Public safety departments discuss diversity strategies
Austin’s public safety agencies are not as diverse as the city they serve, according to a presentation by police, fire and EMS officials at a meeting of the Public Safety Commission last week. “We need to show we do have…
Public Safety • By Jack Craver • Nov 10, 2016
The sad state of DNA testing in sexual assault cases
It might take a while for Austin to clear its backlog of more than 600 batches of DNA evidence related to sexual assaults. Austin Police Department Chief of Staff Brian Manley told members of the Public Safety Commission on Tuesday…
Police • By Jack Craver • Nov 8, 2016
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Task force to update Austin Energy's environmental plans
Austin Energy is gearing up for another update to the “Austin Energy Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan to 2025,” the document first approved by City Council in 2007 that outlines how the city-owned utility intends to change in the…
Energy • By Jack Craver • Nov 8, 2016
Council debates building demolition in Old West Austin
City Council delayed a decision on a contentious historic preservation case Thursday after a property owner promised that he would not seek a permit to tear down the structure in the next week. Zach Armstrong, who is seeking to demolish…
Preservation • By Jack Craver • Nov 4, 2016
Lamar Beach Master Plan coming together
Members of the City Council Open Space, Environment and Sustainability Committee expressed delight Wednesday at the consensus among stakeholders over the Lamar Beach Master Plan, a proposed multimillion-dollar overhaul of Lamar Beach at Town Lake Metropolitan Park. Representatives of the…
Planning • By Jack Craver • Oct 28, 2016
Onion Creek residents voice desperation over flooding
Flood-battered residents voiced despair over the future and frustration with City Hall at a Tuesday night forum at the Onion Creek Club featuring Mayor Steve Adler and City Council members Ann Kitchen and Delia Garza. “We feel like we’re trapped…
Austin • By Jack Craver • Oct 27, 2016
City Council approves Grove PUD 'placeholder'
City Council took an important procedural step Thursday toward approval of a major planned unit development that has fiercely divided several neighborhoods in West Austin. Council voted to approve the Grove at Shoal Creek PUD on first reading, the first…
Development • By Jack Craver • Oct 21, 2016
10-1: Commission representation by the numbers
Graphs and map by John Laycock. One of the arguments in favor of replacing Austin’s former at-large City Council with the new, district-based 10-1 system was that the former system didn’t adequately represent certain parts of the city. Nonetheless, although…
